3 Tips for the Dyson AirStraight
This (wildly expensive but totally worth it) device is pretty fool-proof, but after years of practice, I’ve become a low-key expert at how to use the Dyson AirStrait to get my very frizz-inclined hair sleek and shiny as opposed to the “straight but a little puffy” vibes of my early days.
Work in tiny sections. Smaller that you would for blow out or standard flat iron. For my medium-long, fine, high density hair, I do 30+ sections. By comparison, I do about 8 sections for a dryer/round brush session.
Go slow. Slower than you think. Imagine your arm is a sloth.
Make sure you pull it through alllll the way to the ends. Remember that this is air-flow technology, not hot plates, so it’s not enough that the device reaches your ends. You should not be releasing or unclamping until all the hair in that section has “escaped.”
I know all of this seems like it would take forever, but actually it only adds a minute or two from when I used to do “big chunks, fast” because I usually only need to do one pass per section.
Link. Not an affiliate.
How to use the Dyson AirStrait to get sleek and shiny vs. just straight-but-puffy.
One. Work in tiny sections. Smaller than you think. Like, 30+
Two. Go slow. Slower than you think. Imagine your arm is a sloth.
Three. Pull it all the way to the ends. Don’t release your grip until all the hair has escaped.
Link. Not an affiliate.
Easy Girl Dinner, Veggies & Chips
My easy/light favorite dinner hack is to just put a bunch of stuff on a platter, and 50%+ of it has to be vegetables. Ranch or onion dip at the center. Hummus works too. Or olive oil flavored with fresh garlic, dried herbs, and a generous pinch of kosher salt. But usually, it's ranch. On one half of the platter, I pile up baby carrots, chopped broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, snap peas, cucumbers ... whatever veggies you have that you need to use up. Chunks of crunchy romaine heart are surprisingly nice. The trick making sure it takes up at least half the platter. Veggies are the main event here, not an afterthought. When we have leftover roast chicken, we'll do a pile of that as well. If there’s no chicken, maybe some nuts, but we're not on the obsessive protein train. And then, to make it fun, some chips or crackers on the other side of the platter. We love Kettle jalapeño chips or salt & pepper chips, but if i stumble upon Nabisco's increasingly hard to find Chicken-n'-a-Biscuit crackers, a few of those get tucked in as well. It ends up looking massive, because we're generous with the veggies, and again ... it's dinner. We plop it on the table, pour a glass of wine, put on jazz, and pull out whatever books we're currently into. We nibble, sip, read. By the end of the night we're happy, satiated, full, and despite having eaten mostly veggies, we feel like we “got away with something” by having snacks for dinner. :)
My Makeup Favorites
Merit Minimalist
Merit Uniform
Jones Road Bronzer
Trish McEvoy Gel Liner
Jones Road Mascara
Merit Uniform
Clairins Lip Gloss
Merit Instant Glow Serum (as primer)
Jones Road Dusty Rose Bronzer (as blush)
Aesthetic Spring Emoji Combinations
💐 🌿 🫧
🌷 🪞 ☁️
🌱 🧺 🌼
🌳 🕊️ 🌷
🌼 📖 ☕️
🪴 🌷 ✨
🌿 🫖 🍯
🌸 🦢 ☁️
🌱 🌧️ 🌿
🌳 🌼 🧴
🌂 🌧️ 🌷
☔️ 🕊️ 🌿
🌦️ 🪴 ☁️
🌧️ 📖 🫖
🌷 🌼 🪞
Mini Book Review: We Need Your Art
Author: Aimee McNee
I moved We Need Your Art way up my TBR because I thought it was exactly the book I needed right now: a creative pep talk, a reminder that making things for the sake of making them is a worthy endeavor. And in some ways, it is that. McNee’s voice is warm, modern, down-to-earth, and a little irreverent in a way I really enjoyed. But I didn't love the book. The full title is We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something, and much of the book circles that message again and again. It’s a good message! I agree with it wholeheartedly. I just found myself constantly thinking, "didn't she just say that?" I did appreciate the sections on saturated markets and boundaries around sharing online. “Art is not toaster” will absolutely stay with me. Ultimately, this was a fast, well-intended read that may deeply encourage the right person. For me, it felt like a heartfelt blog post expanded into a book. I wanted to be moved more than I was, though I still agree with the thesis completely: we need your art.
Mini Book Review: The Secret Life of Plants
Authors: Authors: Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird
A thought-provoking but ultimately unconvincing look at experiments exploring unusual plant phenomena and the possibility of plant sentience. I picked this up expecting something closer to current plant science, then realized it was published in the 1970s, which changed the experience quite a bit. The experiments themselves are interesting, sometimes even fascinating, but many of the results seem difficult to repeat, making the book feel closer to lore than science. I also wanted more plants, fewer long detours into the scientists’ backstories, equipment, and technical setup. There were definitely moments that made me pause and wonder what we still don’t know about the living world around us, but I also found myself skimming and waiting for the book to get back to the point. By the end, I was looking at our houseplants differently, but also couldn’t wait to be done with the book. Recommended for plant lovers who enjoy scientific-sounding writing on strange, possibly pseudoscientific topics.
Books I Read in 2025
Most of the links affiliate links to Bookshop.org, which I prefer to Amazon because it supports local bookstores. I’ve starred my two favorites of the year.
Million Dollar Weekend, Noah Kagan
The Fourth Turning is Here, Neil Howe
Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, Allen Roland
The Vietnam War: A Military History, Geoffrey Wawro
The Ode Less Travelled, Stephen Fry
Montaigne, Stefan Zweig ✨
Titan, Ron Chernow
Wisdom Takes Work, Ryan Holiday
Living a Quiet Life, Vanessa Marie Dewsbury
Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot, Jim Stockdale
The Sailing of the Intrepid, Montel Williams & Davis Fisher, my thoughts ✨
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott, my thoughts
Remembrance of Things Paris, [edited by] Ruth Reichl, my thoughts
Here’s the entire list on Bookshop.org, minus Living a Quiet Life, as the author opted to limit availability to Amazon.
Mini Book Review: Remembrances of Paris
Author: Rachel Reichl
A delightful collection of short essays about Paris from the writers and editors of Gourmet magazine, spanning the 1930s through more modern day. I picked this up in the final days of 2025 after a year of reading thick, chunky books because I wanted something pretty, and it delivered exactly that. Given the Gourmet connection, I expected the book to be almost entirely about food, and food is certainly the thread running through it, but it ultimately reads more like a love letter to Paris itself. One of the real pleasures was getting to know the different writers’ voices. By the end, I could often tell who had written an essay before checking the name. It was fascinating to see how two writers could describe the same restaurant, street, or experience and create completely different worlds. Recommended for food lovers, Paris people, and anyone in the mood for something elegant and transportive.
Mini Book Review: Bird by Bird
Author: Anne Lamott
A funny, quirky book that’s part memoir, part writing guide, with a strong focus on fiction and novel-writing craft. I understand why this book is so beloved. It’s warm, sharp, strange in the best way, and beautifully voiced. I especially loved the introduction. That said, I went in expecting a broader book about writing and creativity, and was surprised by how much of it centered on writing novels. As a published novelist currently trying to spread my wings beyond fiction, I wasn’t especially looking for advice like “plot grows out of character” or reminders that dialect-heavy dialogue can be tiring to read. Useful, certainly, just very specific to a lane I’m actively trying to step outside of, and I wish it would have said fiction or novels anywhere in the description. So I may simply have read this at the wrong time. I liked it, even admired it, though I don’t think it will become a favorite. Recommended for beginning novelists and readers who love distinctive, well-developed voices.
Mini Book Review: The Sailing of the Intrepid
This is a short, surprisingly moving history of the USS Intrepid, focused mainly on its first combat voyage in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Somehow, this ended up being my favorite read of 2025. I say “somehow” because I have very little natural interest in the Navy, ships, or military history, and yet I was completely pulled in. It’s easy to read, briskly paced, and often feels closer to an adventure story than a dry history book. I was genuinely surprised by how emotional I felt while reading it. At several points, I found myself inexplicably teary-eyed, and yes, apparently I can become emotionally attached to a boat. I’d recommend this especially to readers who want to try nonfiction but prefer something short, accessible, and story-driven. Serious naval history buffs may find it a little introductory, but for civilians like me, that’s part of the appeal.
Less, More
Inspired by William Jansson
Less
Screen time
Consumption
Pettifoggery
Guilt
Perfectionism
More
Creation
Fresh flowers
Reading
Paper
Silence
Eat the Frog
Eat the Frog is a productivity approach from Brian Tracy, But I’ve always found “Eat That Frog” a strange phrase, so I tend to call it “Eat the Frog,” though the concept is the same: choose the most important, challenging, or dreaded item on your to-do list, and do it first. When you handle the hard thing early, you avoid filling your day with easier tasks while the big one keeps getting pushed to tomorrow. Once the frog is done, the rest of the day tends to feel lighter. In practice, write your to-do list, circle the task you’re resisting most, and begin there. Personally, if someone asked how I published 40+ books in ten years, I’d point to this practice. When I’m deadline, my daily word count comes first. Before email. Before social media. Before laundry. Before the dishwasher. Before even a shower. Before almost everything. Except coffee.
Best easy onion dip that actually tastes like onions
I’m feeling smug to announce that I’ve improved the original with very minimal additional effort. Spending just 2 extra minutes will give you a satisfyingly chunky dip that’s more flavorful, more balanced, and more visually pleasing than the basic version.
sour cream, 16oz
Lipton onion soup mix, 1 packet
½ of a red onion, finely diced (more if you’re feeling bold, less if you’re delicate)
everything bagel seasoning, several aggressive shakes of everything bagel seasoning. I don’t measure, and you shouldn’t either. Trust your heart.
a bowl of some kind to combine all of the above. We just mix ours directly in the food-storage container we’ll put in the fridge later.
gezellig
gezellig (adjective)
noun form: gezelligheid
A Dutch word without a perfect English translation. It’s more of a vibe—a sense of warm contentment.
Think: groups of of friends laughing in a bustling bar on a rainy night. Curled up the couch beside your favorite person with a good book and a flickering candle. A thick piece of toast and a cup of tea.
It’s about a place, a moment, a feeling that makes you want to linger.
Further reading: https://dutchwafflecompany.us/blogs/blog/what-does-gezellig-mean
Why years seem to pass faster as we get older
Proportionality
One year is a much larger fraction of a kid’s life than an adult’s. At age 10, a year is 10% of our entire life. At 50, a single year is only 2% of our life. The older we get, each year takes up “less space” in our overall lived experience. It feels less big, because proportionately, it is.
Memory Density
Our brains encode new and novel experiences with more richness than they do routine experiences. Childhood is filled with first-time events, while adulthood tends toward routine. Because we tend to have fewer “first experiences” as adults, our brain doesn’t have as many “memory markers” to flag.
Attention and Processing Speed
As we age, we process information more slowly and release less dopamine (a neurotransmitter tied to time perception). This means we may have less sensitivity to short intervals, making time feel as though it is passing more quickly.
Mathematical Modeling
Studies suggest our brains measure time on a sliding scale: as we get older, we become less sensitive to small chunks of time, so days and years feel shorter.
Réfléchisseur
réfléchisseur
An old/archaic French word that translates to “one who reflects/ponders.”
Some thoughts
I first came across the word while reading Montaigne, and it’s lingered ever since. I’m not sure why exactly other than I love the idea that there’s an actual term for someone who thinks instead of consumes/scrolls. Someone who will read a book and sits with it for months before writing a thoughtful discourse rather than rushing to TikTok to give a 90 second “hot take.”
The Fugio Cent
The Fugio Cent
Minted in 1797, the Fugue cent is the United States’ first official coin. It was made out of copper and thought to have been designed (at least in part) by Ben Franklin.
The front of the coin has a sun and sundial above the word Fugio, Latin for “I Fly.” At the bottom of the coin are the words “Mind Your Business,” thought to have been Franklin’s advice to American citizens, to, well,… mind their business.
On the back of the coin there are 13 linked circles (representing the 13 original colonial states) forming a chain around the words “We Are One.”
Chronotypes
Chronotypes describe the natural timing of your body clock—when you’re wired to wake, work, and wind down.
Chronotypes in Biology
Chronotypes are the nuances of our our individual Circadian rhythm. All of our bodies run on an internal clock that regulate sleep, alertness, and energy levels on a 24-hour cycle. But not everyone’s “clock” is set the same: some people naturally wake early and feel sharp in the morning, while others peak later in the day. Research shows this is influenced by genetics, age, and exposure to light. This is often measured on a morning-evening spectrum rather than in rigid categories.
Chronotypes in Pop Science
The popular version translates these rhythms into animal types—like bear, lion, wolf, and dolphin. They’re a simplified way of talking about whether you function best early, late, or in between, but have no medical or biological basis.
Bear – Energy follows the sun: awake with daylight, tired after dark.
Lion – Early riser with peak focus in the morning.
Wolf – Night owl who hits their stride later in the day.
Dolphin – Light sleeper with irregular energy and alertness.
Further reading: The Power of When by Michael Breus